Recycle right campaign

GREEN-FINGERED residents are being encouraged to help to protect the environment, thanks to a new campaign which aims to prevent good recycling going to waste.

The ‘recycle right’ campaign has been launched by the county council to reduce the amount of contamination in Leicestershire’s recycling bins.

In caring for the environment, we all want to recycle as much as we can, and residents are already recycling just over 45 per cent of what they throw away.

However, a number of incorrect items are being placed in recycling bins, which can prevent good material from being recycled.

Last year, a whopping 5,500 tonnes of material placed in recycling bins across the county was rejected due to wrongly recycled items, such as disposable nappies and food waste spoiling good quality, recyclable material.

The county council is now working with the borough council to improve Leicestershire’s recycling output. With the help of clear information and advice, they hope that residents will take responsibility for their own rubbish by ensuring that the right things are going in the right bins.

To avoid good recycling going to waste, residents should:

Place disposable nappies in the rubbish bin since they are not recyclable

Ensure that recycling is not clean and dry. Food and drink should be emptied and cleaned from all containers before recycling.

Clothes and other textiles cannot be placed into the recycling bins. They can be taken to charity shops wherever possible.

Blake Pain, county council cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “In Leicestershire, we deal with about 305,000 tonnes of waste a year and 55,000 tonnes of that is recyclable material, of which, there is a certain amount of contamination.

“As a county we are aiming to recycle 50 per cent of all household waste by 2020. The less we contaminate our recycling, the easier it will be to meet targets, reduce costs and contribute towards a more environmentally sustainable place to live.”

For more information on what can and can’t be recycled in your recycling bin or bag, visit www.lesswaste.org.uk .